Mr. Lesser is vice president and CISO at Children’s National Hospital, where he leads the enterprise cybersecurity program protecting patient care, research and hospital operations at the pediatric academic medical center. Mr. Lesser is responsible for cybersecurity strategy, security operations, architecture and engineering, governance and risk management, identity and access management, incident response, third-party risk, and security awareness and training. He leads a multidisciplinary cybersecurity organization that partners closely with clinical, research, IT, legal, compliance and executive leaders to embed security into daily operations while enabling innovation. Mr. Lesser oversees enterprise cyber risk management, regulatory and audit readiness, business continuity planning and preparedness for major cyber events, regularly briefing senior leadership and the board on cyber risk and resilience. He led the development of “Code Dark,” a coordinated ransomware and major cyber disruption response model that empowers all hospital staff to act as cyber first responders during incidents, a framework that has since been shared broadly across U.S. hospitals. Through the “Cyber Champions” program, Mr. Lesser has built a network of frontline staff serving as local security advocates who translate cybersecurity expectations into everyday clinical and operational practice. Before joining Children’s National, he served as deputy director of the national cybersecurity center of excellence at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, leading national collaborations on cybersecurity challenges affecting healthcare and medical devices.
